A lung abscess caused by secondary syphilis – the utility of polymerase chain reaction techniques in transbronchial biopsy: a case report

BMC Infectious Diseases

Futoshi Nakagami¹  Hiroshi Kida²  Masanari Hamaguchi²  Yoshito Takeda²  Kotaro Miyake²  Shinji Futami²  Kota Iwahori²  Shingo Satoh²  Atsushi Kumanogoh²  Muneyoshi Kuroyama²  Shohei Koyama²  Haruhiko Hirata²  Takayuki Takimoto²  Izumi Nagatomo² 

[1] Department of General Internal Medicine, Osaka University Hospital;Department of Respiratory Medicine and Clinical Immunology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine;

关键词: Secondary syphilis;    Lung abscess;    Polymerase chain reaction;    Transbronchial biopsy;    Surgical treatment;    Case report;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12879-019-4236-4

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Background In Japan and other countries, the number of patients with syphilis is increasing year by year. Recently, the cases of the pulmonary involvement in patients with secondary syphilis have been reported. However, it is still undetermined how to obtain a desirable specimen for a diagnosis of the pulmonary involvement, and how to treat it if not cured. Case presentation A 34-year-old man presented with cough and swelling of the right inguinal nodes. A physical examination revealed erythematous papular rash over the palms, soles and abdomen. A 4 cm mass in the right lower lobe of the lung was detected on computed tomography. He was diagnosed as having secondary syphilis, because he was tested positive for the rapid plasma reagin and Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay. Amoxycillin and probenecid were orally administered for 2 weeks. Subsequently, rash and serological markers were improved, however, the lung mass remained unchanged in size. Transbronchial biopsy (TBB) confirmed the pulmonary involvement of syphilis using polymerase chain reaction techniques (tpp47- and polA-PCR). Furthermore, following surgical resection revealed the lung mass to be an abscess. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first surgically treated case of a lung abscess caused by syphilis, which was diagnosed by PCR techniques in TBB. This report could propose a useful diagnostic method for the pulmonary involvement of syphilis.

【 授权许可】

Unknown